Looking like a delegation of toasters from space, a generation of electrically powered, self-driving mail trucks will roll out of a suburban Detroit industrial park later this year. Their mission: Revolutionize mail and package delivery.
About 2,000 of the boxy, shiny Quadrobot U1 four-wheel-drive, four-wheel-steer delivery vans will begin service with the Chinese postal service late this year, delivering packages in cities along the populous South Coast.
The startup company aims to have another 30 in trial service delivering goods in downtown Detroit and suburban downtowns, including Birmingham and Royal Oak. Quadrobot CEO and Chairman Mike Wang outlined the plans during an interview in the modest Madison Heights building where the company he founded will begin assembling Quadrobots for U.S. service later this year.